I can't decide between engineering and pharmacy HELP!!!

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hi,
I don't know if I want to go for engineering or pharmacy. I know I'll have more options with engineering buty with pharmacy I'll have job securety as long as I graduate. Graduates at the pharmacy school I would go to has an average of $85,000 for its graduates. Of course with engineering I could get a Phd and earn just as much. However a Phd takes a lot more work to earn then a Pharmd. Then again engineering has a high ceiling.</p>

<p>Now with the money issue put aside here comes my main dillemma. Which would I enjoy more? How can I tell if I'm ment for engineering? </p>

<p>I'm so confused, if anyone else here had to choose between pharmacy and engineering please let me know how you chose and if you're happy with you're decision and why...</p>

<p>Thanks again..</p>

2

<p>if you like math(calculus) and physics, you'll probably like engineering. I have a friend who wants to get a pharmD but he's doing chem Engr. undergrad first.</p>

3

<p>If want to start making big money soon, if you go to a college that has the PharmD linked to the undergrad program (like Butler) you can get a PharmD in much less time that it would take you to get a PhD in Engineering.</p>

<p>If you want to get a job soon, you can get a good job after 4 years with a B.S. in an engineering; some of these jobs pay very well.</p>

<p>I think you should try to go to a career exploration day or weekend for engineering. Check for these at the closest engineering college near you (even if it is not a college that you would consider attending) or look at
<a href="http://www.engineeringk12.org/outreach/default.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.engineeringk12.org/outreach/default.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>If you really loved chemistry and biology and math, pharmacy?
If you really loved physics and math, engineering?
Or chemistry physics and math, chemical engineer?</p>

<p>This is a tough one.</p>

4

<p>I've seen around these forums that you could get a Bachelor's in Engineering and an MBA and earn over $100,000 a few years after you graduate. MBA's in general are where the big bucks are if all you're interested in is money.</p>

5

<p>im doing undergrad cheme and then planning to get a pharmd... doing both : )</p>

6

<p>clove7965 - an MBA in itself will earn you around 90k a year right after graduation with a big fat signing bonus. The engineering degree + MBA is pointless if you just want an MBA you should study business.</p>

7

<p>I used to work in a pharmacy as a technician part time. If you want to sit in a 10x15 ft room for 10 hours a day and fill prescriptions, using only about 1/20of your brain, than pharmacy is for you.</p>

8

<p>Oh, unfair comment UnseenShadow! You must have had a really boring job! Pharmacy has tons of options. Not only can you be guaranteed of work in just about any city, but you have lots of schedule options and work environments to choose from. Some include: big chain retail, small independent retail, teaching hospital, community hospital, long term care, home infusion, consulting, radiopharmacy, pharmaceutical sales, pharmaceutical manufacturing, drug development, research, etc. And of course there is always health care management (MPH or MBA) or health law (JD). You can have as much interaction with doctors, nurses and patients as you like. Yes, some tasks are mundane (that's why we have technicians!), but when you can put your knowledge to use to monitor drug therapies, counsel patients, make recommendations to physicians, develop or bring a new drug to market, it seems pretty good. Also, you can work day or evening shifts, or 4 ten-hour days per week, or 7 days on and 7 days off, or self-designated schedule if you own a store of if you consult. It's really pretty flexible.</p>

<p>I am a pharmacist and I have 4 engineers in my family. Engineering is quite diverse too with a variety of fields and work environments. One person was high up in management of a big corporation (suit and a corner office thing), one manages a small company (flannel shirt and jeans thing), one is a university professor, and the last is my son, who is still a student. </p>

<p>It seems to me that "I like bio and chem" = pharmacy, while "I like math and physics" = engineering. Pharmacy needs some math, but engineering needs much more. Pharmacy will have chemistry of some sort every year, so you gotta love it. Good luck with your decision.</p>

9

<p>I am also stuck with this decision. I have already applied to the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M to major in electrical engineering. I am thinking about pharmacy now because of the job security. I've heard that there is not much job security in engineering as you can get laid off easily and companies can hire people from other countries such as India and China. I am good in math and I like it more than any of the other subjects. I am pretty good in chemistry too but I don't know if I like it or not its just ehhh. I am very hardworking and if I set my mind on something, I think I can achieve it. I had a horrible physics teacher so I don't really know if I like it or not because he did not teach at all he just gave us the equations and it was a very easy class even though it as AP Physics. Everyone in my class ended up getting a 1 on the AP exam. Any advice for me? I don't know any electrical engineers so I can't really ask them what's it like to be one.</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
I used to work in a pharmacy as a technician part time. If you want to sit in a 10x15 ft room for 10 hours a day and fill prescriptions, using only about 1/20of your brain, than pharmacy is for you.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That's a pharmacy technician. You were not a pharmacist.</p>

11

<p>I've seen a lot of these Pharmacy vs engineering threads here.</p>

<p>Pharmacy will pay more but you will need to go to school longer. Probably for six years but possibly only five. School is also quite competitive for pharmacy students. You are not garaunteed to get in. </p>

<p>Engineering pays less than pharmacy but pays among the highest of jobs needing only a bachelors. Engineers can potentially make quite a bit of money too plus you will have a lot of options as far as a career is concerned. </p>

<p>In either case you will have job security, good pay, and interesting work. Do whatever interests you more. I see some of you saying engineering lacks job security. That's not exactly true. Very few engineers are unemployed in this country.</p>

12

<p>Do you enjoy building things? Labs? Hands on stuff? If so engineering would be better</p>

<p>If you think you would enjoy research pharmd might suit you better.</p>

13

<p>Do engineering students spend more time studying or working out problems? Like most biology and chemistry majors spend hours reading textbooks but I don't think that's the case with engineers. Do they "study" by working problems from the textbook mainly and reading the textbook occasionally?</p>

14

<p>I rarely read textbooks. I really only use them for physics classes and doing problems. My embedded systems class doesn't even have a textbook.</p>

15

<p>As an engineer-to-be, I feel that the pharmacist's job is "boring" (no slight to pharmacists intended). However, if both engineering and pharmacy both sound appealing to you, then try to reflect on which field do you really want to make a difference in. IMO, pharmacy and engineering are both fairly boring if you're only looking at them within the scope of a traditional job. However, once you consider the potential of the knowledge you gain in the process of becoming one of these and the impact you can personally make from that knowledge/training, then you can see a bigger picture. If you could make your own path (not necessarily a job) then what would you do? Something where a pharmacist's knowledge would help (rid the world of some disease/ailment) or where the engineer's expertise would help (design something that advances mankind and/or push further the envelope of science and technology). Also, I suggest that you start thinking outside of the traditional major/career scope and instead see how you can combine both of these fields. Not many people are simultaneously interested in pharmacy and engineering... if you like both, you might as well take advantage of this fact. Life is too short to allow yourself to fall into a rut, try doing something new and see where it takes you.</p>

16

<p>Here's my 2 cents on pharmacy vs. engineering...</p>

<p>I'm currently a 3rd year/1st professional year student at Rutgers Pharmacy. Pharmacy certainly isn't my interest and it certainly isn't as interesting as engineering to me. My passion has always been engineering because I love to figure things out and build things.</p>

<p>However, the monetary benefits of pharmacy are better and if you ever do get a chance to study pharmacy, I would suggest you take it. Even the worst pharmacist is offered 100k/year, 10k sign on, 36 hours/week, 3 days a week with full benefits. No other profession at age 24 will offer you those benefits with that flexibility. I would suspect that most of my class doesn't even like pharmacy but they'll stick it out because the rewards at the end are definitely worth it.</p>

<p>As for pharmacy professions, yes it can be boring.

[quote]

If you want to sit in a 10x15 ft room for 10 hours a day and fill prescriptions, using only about 1/20of your brain, than pharmacy is for you.

[/quote]

But flexibility and dollar return per hour is its advantage. After I graduate, I plan on studying something I'm really interested in such as MechE. I'll be able to go back to grad school full time AND make 100k/year. You can't beat that type of flexibility with any other profession.</p>

<p>My train of thought: first, acquire something that pays well, is stable, and provides a comfortable standard of living EVEN if it is boring and not challenging. Once you have done that, then pursue something you are passionate about.</p>

<p>Another advantage of pharmacy is specific to my individual case. I'm in the Army National Guard and typically guard/reserve components promote their officers slower than active duty components. However, as a pharmacist you can branch Medical Corps and there are numerous advantages to this:
1. Promotions are MUCH faster. Medical Corps is always understrength and it is a virtual guarantee that you can reach the rank of Lt. Col. or Col. really quickly without even having special connections.
2. Deployments tend to be MUCH easier and shorter. As a pharmacist, you tend to be deployed to areas where they have a full-fledged health care facility. Chances are higher that you will be deployed to a "vacation" area like Hawaii, Germany, Italy, etc.</p>

17

<p>I am a pharmacist and I have several engineers in the family (three mechE's), and I have to agree that engineering seems more interesting and varied, but pharmacy does pay better initially. Pharmacists' starting salaries might not be quite that high in all geographic areas and types of practice though.</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
I am a pharmacist and I have several engineers in the family (three mechE's), and I have to agree that engineering seems more interesting and varied, but pharmacy does pay better initially. Pharmacists' starting salaries might not be quite that high in all geographic areas and types of practice though.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yea plus most pharmacists go to school for 6 years and most engineers go to school for 4 years. Those two extra years could take a while to make up.</p>

19

<p>Tell me if this is even remotely possible/advisable: I study electrical engineering for 2 years and during these 2 years I take the prerequisite pharmacy courses such as Ochem 1 and 2. After my 2nd year, I apply for Pharmacy school by taking the PCAT. If I get into pharmacy school, then I accept and forget my electrical engineering altogether. If I don't get in then I continue with electrical engineering and graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. I doubt anyone has done this but I was just wondering if this would even be possible.</p>

20

<p>
[quote]
Tell me if this is even remotely possible/advisable: I study electrical engineering for 2 years and during these 2 years I take the prerequisite pharmacy courses such as Ochem 1 and 2. After my 2nd year, I apply for Pharmacy school by taking the PCAT. If I get into pharmacy school, then I accept and forget my electrical engineering altogether. If I don't get in then I continue with electrical engineering and graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. I doubt anyone has done this but I was just wondering if this would even be possible.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The first two years of most engineering programs have little if any electives. You'll find it difficult (if not impossible) to do EE while still doing pre-reqs for pharmacy for two years. My advice is to just chose one now and stick with it. If you really want to do pharmacy then do it. You'll get into pharmacy school if you really want to. You'll find engineering rather difficult if you're doing it as a fallback plan anyway. I don't know anyone who has graduated from engineering wishing they could have done something else.</p>